Cherokee Purple and Black krim - updated with pictures...

Cherokee Purple and Black krim - updated with pictures...

Finally, after 3 weeks of cherry varieties, my heirloom tomatoes starting to show color!!! But... How in the world can you tell when Cherokee Purple and Black Krim are ready color wise?

I've searched for photos online, and colors of the ripened fruit differs so much! Some photos obsequiously oversaturated (for commercial/sales purposes I guess?), but in reality, anyone care to share some photos of the actual ripe tomatoes of these varieties? I know the shoulders would remain greenish, but the color depth of the rest of the fruit - no clue!

Regards,D

If you have photo of the Black Tula, will be happy to see that too, first one is starting to change color

Last edited by Duh_Vinci on Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I ordered 'cherokee chocolate' this year. I'm wondering if the wrong seeds were supplied as the fruit is striped when ripe and the tomato flesh is still green, even when the tomato is very soft ripe. I was expecting a pink to light purple fruit with a slow to ripen shoulder. Anyone have experience with this variety. Whatever I have is ever so tasty, with unique flavor very different from most of my big slicers. Oh yes this tomato is small to medium sized, perhaps 6-8 ounce fruits.

Last edited by hendi_alex on Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 45 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.Alex

I just spent a little time looking at the Tomato Growers Supply site and am wondering if my packet of Cherokee Chocolate perhaps actually contained 'green zebra' seeds. Here is their site with a photo.

What did you think of their flavor? The texture is a little soft but to me the flavor is delightfully different. Usually when doing a taste test, the flavors are only subtly different, but with texture and moisture very different. These 'green zebras'?? are the size of a large salad tomato, are very soft/moist, have green flesh when ripe, and have a fairly pronounced difference in flavor as compared to most large slicers of either heirloom or more modern varieties.

Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 45 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.Alex

Certainly looks like the Green Zebra. Glad you find the taste on the positive side. I've got a little pack last week as a gift from someone, was not sure if it was going to make it to the garden next year, but I think it just might!

Zofiava,

Same here, deep green, striped shoulders and one finally starting to show some color, a few more days, can't wait! Though in my case, not as "highly productive" as described my many (and my soil is rather rich, even Brandywine has over 20 fruits on it and closing on 8' tall)

So here is an update on the colors, ripe indeed and very tasty (both), but different. Krim has a little more of a purple hue, kinda like Scott said, "bruise" color, green shoulders to various degrees on most.

While both tasted great, I personally prefer Cherokee Purple, both have complex flavor, both buttery smooth flash, but Cherokee has extra sweetness and almost smokiness that just lingers in the mouth for a while. Loved it!

Cherokee Purple (these guys didn't make it to the pictures in their sliced version, tasted so good, we just inhaled them)

EDIT: Few more of the Cherokee Purple, though this time took a pictures before inhaling these two (what a flavor!!!):

Got to love these beauties!!!

Since this is my first time ever growing tomatoes, I planted many varieties just to see what I like and what I don't. Both of these are going back in the garden next year, but will also add Cherokee Chocolate (Alex, hopefully you will get the right seeds next year?)

Actually, I didn't care much for the flavor of the Green Zebras. I doubt I'll grow them again, but I won't say that absolutely. Last year was a bad year for tomatoes in my area. Few people had really good ones. In addition, a friend of mine planted my tomatoes as a "favor" for me, although I didn't ask him to. He's a fine gardener, but has no experience growing plants in containers, which is how I garden. He used heavy clay soil from my yard in the containers, instead of waiting for me to buy some potting mix. I couldn't tell he had used clay soil, because he topped off the containers with some potting mix that he found in the garden shed.

On top of that, he insisted on watering them for me, despite the fact that I told him I was watering them myself. To be brutally honest, it's nothing short of a miracle that the poor plants survived and bore the few fruits that they did!

I love my friends, and appreciate the kind things they do for me, but sometimes they drive me nuts!

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

I wish MY big ones will ripen. Just coloring up now, though I've been harvesting the little ones already (grown from grocery store Sugar Plums -- one with an elongated pear-like shape, the other more oval shape -- and a mystery volunteer that ripens at about 2" -- juicy and sweet/tart). There's a Principe Borghese (sun drying tomato), some Bellstars (sauce tomato), and a Moskvich (which was supposed to have matured FIRST) that's almost ready to pick. A cluster of Lyn's Mahogany Garnet (open pollinated cross of Green Zebra and Black Russian) is very dark green striped right now, and Valencia (orange colored tomato) is just starting to yellow. Various other volunteers around the garden in varying levels of of tomato-ness. One has fruits with flattened lobed shape that may have come from last year's Brandywine -- looking forward to that one.